1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bookbinding apparatus and a bookbinding system which adjust the temperature of glue used in bookbinding.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a bookbinding apparatus which heats solid glue into liquid form using a heater or the like, coats the liquid glue to one side edge of a sheet bundle, and binds the sheet bundle (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-71661). Such a bookbinding apparatus has the advantage that a larger number of sheets can be bound into a booklet as compared with bookbinding apparatuses of the type using a staple, and hence originals consisting of a small number of pages up to a large number of pages can be bound.
In the bookbinding apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2001-71661, however, a heater has to continuously heat glue to a predetermined temperature in excess of the temperature at which glue is melted so that glue liquefied once can be kept in a liquid state. If the temperature of glue is continuously controlled to the predetermined temperature, power is consumed even when the bookbinding apparatus is not operating, and hence the bookbinding apparatus cannot meet user requests for reduction of power consumption and adapt to usage conditions by a user.
On the other hand, if the bookbinding apparatus is configured to control the temperature of glue only when it is operating, power consumption can be suppressed, but if glue is solidified, it takes time for the glue to be liquefied again, and hence it is necessary to wait for a long time until a finished book is output. In this case, the bookbinding apparatus cannot meet user requests for quick output of a finished book and adapt to usage conditions by a user.